Made redundant @ 9 weeks pregnant

Chickola

Hello,

I've just found out I am being made redundant. I am absolutely distraught about it as I am also 9 weeks pregnant.

I love my job and have really considered myself lucky in that respect. I work from home, doing something I love, earning a decent wage. I will have been at the company 2 years this week.

My employer knows I am pregnant but this is not related to the redundancy. Lack of new business is the reason.

I live in a small village outside a small town where there are zero job opportunities, so I will face an hours commute each way (Guildford area) to find a similar type of position.

This will be our first child and we are so excited (having been together over 11 years it's been a long time coming).

I just don't see that we can financially get by without my salary, I've not been able to sleep and have been in constant tears since finding out. I also don't know how in such a competitive marketplace I will be able to get a new job.

Do you think if I am applying for work I should tell prospective employers I am pregnant? If so when, on the application, at an interview, if they offer me a job? I'll be showing by the time I get an interview, if I do, so it might be hard to hide it and I will also need time off for appointments.

I am also really reluctant to commute so far while I am pregnant but I don't know what options I have.

I've always been interested in retraining as a teacher but I don't know how easy this would be to get into. In some ways I can see it would be an ideal time and if I am every going to do it, now is the last chance (I am 35 years old). It would mean a big pay cut for several years but long term I think there would be more stability, opportunities and pension package.

I am also worried about how we will cope without a maternity package as I was hoping to be able to take 6 weeks SMP (90% salary), 3 weeks holiday and then return to work (as I work from home this would have been an option). Obviously I won't be able to do this now and just have no idea what to do.

Fortunately I don't have debts other than the mortgage to worry about, but I still need to pay that, the bills and food!

Just feel sick with worry so any words of advice or encouragement gratefully received.

londoner1998

Chickola

I am so sorry to hear of your redundancy... I know how you must feel- I have also just been left out of a job, and although I am not pregnant, I remember very well the shock a year ago when I was given the letter of 'at risk'. Like you, I loved my job and had just got it through promotion. The rejection feeling and anxiety over the future were overwhelming.

All I can say is that you must not let it cloud the joy of expecting your first child. A job is a job- I know you need to feed this new baby, but believe me when I say that you will be fine. A colleage of mine asked for Voluntary Redundancy when my compulsory one was announced (we were in the same team)- they didn't want to save my job by letting her go and left it until the last minute... but she had already made up her mind to re-train as a primary school teacher and she is now at Uni. She is so happy she set the wheels in motion even before they let her go.

Hard times are ahead for all of us but like you say, perhaps this is the perfect time for retraining? I would go for it. you will only regret what you didn't do.
Take a day or two before you sit down with a cup of tea (or coffee/chocolate/whatever) to figure out the practicalities with your partner. Can he support you for a little while? What is his situation? Explore what benefits you are entitled and claim them: they are yours.
It took me a good year to be ready for it since the moment they announced it until I exhausted all the possibilities... but now I feel good things are coming, I just don't know when.

Keep coming here, there are great people who will be able to advise you on all areas. Chin up, we will support each other here. I am sure you will find something , but whatever you do, take good care of yourself and the little one on its way...

ALIBOBSY

I agree with the other poster try not to panic,it just means plans have to be rethought.

First thing will be to do what MSE does best. Do a budget and use all the tips on this site to cut your spending to the bone.

Once the baby is born you will get child benefit (I think this is around £20 a week for the first baby) and unless your OH is on a huge wage you will qualify for at least £10 a week child tax credit-this may be much more but without knowing the figures is hard to say lol). You may also qualify for some cont based JSA if you have paid enough NI conts.

You will get (I assume) some kind of redundancy,which again with good planning can be stretched a suprisingly long way.

I am now a SAHM,but that intial drop in wages can seem scary. I look at it as you go from money rich,time poor, to time rich money poor. So you use that time to make every penny work harder,to make and keep to a tight budget,to meal plan, shop around for bargains, and cook from scratch all of which can save alot.

Try to relax and enjoy the pregnancy,being a mum is the best thing ever and I have never enjoyed any work like I do this (its also the hardest,most challenging, wonderful job ever).

Good luck
Ali x

Chickola

Hi and thank you for your encouraging replies.

I keep cycling through tears and feeling sorry for myself, and feeling sick and full of worry.

My husband has a fairly secure job, although certainly not enough to support us both.

Instead of a redundancy payment I can be kept on for another 4 months which will take me into the qualifying SMP period, although there will still be 2 months before I can start it when I will have no income.

I have looked into the teacher training and it would take me a year to get qualified but I wouldn't be able to start the course until Sept 2013 due to when the baby is due this year. On the plus side my maternity time would allow me to get some classroom time to support my application, I do feel a bit old to be starting a new career from scratch but the thought of going for a full time job in my current career makes me feel sick, my current role is quite unique and I know nothing similar exists.

Do you think I should try and find a new job and not tell employers I am pregnant or is that a really bad impression to announce I'm at least 14 weeks when I start, need time off for antenatal and will be off on maternity soon ... I know I will be miserable commuting but at least we wouldn't have quite the financial concern.

ALIBOBSY

When you say your husbands job can't support you both,you need to remember you are looking at it from your current spending position. If you do a new budget and cut things to the bone it can make a massive difference to what you can live off. If you post a SOA over on the debt forums you can get some great advice on cutting down.
EG By using mealplanning, cooking most stuff from scratch, shopping around for the best deal and cutting back I can feed 6 of us for around £50 at a push and easily for £70-£80 (including 5 a day,some meat, nappies for youngest and other household bits). If I had to really cut to the bone I think by cutting the amount of meat and padding meals with bread on the side,and no drinks other than water,plus simple homemade puddings so maincourses can be smaller I could drop to perhaps £30ish a week.

TBH the bill you need to cover are mort/rent,council tax, car costs if essential to OH's job (at home you don't need a car so could take any second car off the road for now and save those costs),utillity costs and basic insurance.Then its food/household costscut to the bone. Anything else is a luxury.

Unless you have a huge mortgage/massive debts most couples/families could manage on a much lower income than they do,we all just get used to higher incomes then panic when they drop. Really do a full breakdown of all your costs and you will be suprised how much you can cut.

Good Luck
Ali x

ALIBOBSY

Re job hunting,whilst you are not obliged to tell an employer you are pregnant,and they aren't allowed to ask-most employers won't be very happy if you get a job them walk in and say you are having a baby. It could make the atmosphere very difficult.

I think I would be looking now to see how little you can live off and therefore save for the time your income drops,if you can manage to live on one wage (plus benefits) then any work you manage is extra.

Ali x

wendym

I am so sorry to hear about this. Apart from the obvious worries, I would just say that neither the training nor the job of teaching are easy options, and choosing to teach just because it seems like a practical solution could lead to even more stress.

jackieblack

ALIBOBSY wrote: »

When you say your husbands job can't support you both,you need to remember you are looking at it from your current spending position. If you do a new budget and cut things to the bone it can make a massive difference to what you can live off. If you post a SOA over on the debt forums you can get some great advice on cutting down.
EG By using mealplanning, cooking most stuff from scratch, shopping around for the best deal and cutting back I can feed 6 of us for around £50 at a push and easily for £70-£80 (including 5 a day,some meat, nappies for youngest and other household bits). If I had to really cut to the bone I think by cutting the amount of meat and padding meals with bread on the side,and no drinks other than water,plus simple homemade puddings so maincourses can be smaller I could drop to perhaps £30ish a week.

TBH the bill you need to cover are mort/rent,council tax, car costs if essential to OH's job (at home you don't need a car so could take any second car off the road for now and save those costs),utillity costs and basic insurance.Then its food/household costscut to the bone. Anything else is a luxury.

Unless you have a huge mortgage/massive debts most couples/families could manage on a much lower income than they do,we all just get used to higher incomes then panic when they drop. Really do a full breakdown of all your costs and you will be suprised how much you can cut.

Good Luck
Ali x

Brilliant post :T
I couldn't agree more, with the last paragaph in particular

londoner1998

ALIBOBSY wrote: »

When you say your husbands job can't support you both,you need to remember you are looking at it from your current spending position. If you do a new budget and cut things to the bone it can make a massive difference to what you can live off. If you post a SOA over on the debt forums you can get some great advice on cutting down.
EG By using mealplanning, cooking most stuff from scratch, shopping around for the best deal and cutting back I can feed 6 of us for around £50 at a push and easily for £70-£80 (including 5 a day,some meat, nappies for youngest and other household bits). If I had to really cut to the bone I think by cutting the amount of meat and padding meals with bread on the side,and no drinks other than water,plus simple homemade puddings so maincourses can be smaller I could drop to perhaps £30ish a week.

TBH the bill you need to cover are mort/rent,council tax, car costs if essential to OH's job (at home you don't need a car so could take any second car off the road for now and save those costs),utillity costs and basic insurance.Then its food/household costscut to the bone. Anything else is a luxury.

Unless you have a huge mortgage/massive debts most couples/families could manage on a much lower income than they do,we all just get used to higher incomes then panic when they drop. Really do a full breakdown of all your costs and you will be suprised how much you can cut.

Good Luck
Ali x

this is sterling advice- we did this when I went to Uni as a mature student 7 years ago and we are doing it again now that I lost my job to stretch the redundancy money. If you do this first, you will see you can stretch your money further while you figure out what to do.

Just re-think your priorities, OP- it is amazing how little we really need to live compared to what we get used to.

Chickola

Thanks for the replies everyone, I am still in shock and admit I've shed quite a few tears today just trying to come to terms with the uncertainty of the future.

Cutting costs wise I think we are quite careful spenders, we only have one car, I always cook from scratch and we don't have any debts other than the mortgage. We do pay into a savings account so that is one monthly payment we can suspend for now.

We have identified that we can cut out Sky for Free Sat and we can go for a cheaper broadband deal than we already use. I'll definitely post in the debt section to see if anyone can offer advice one other areas we can cut down.

Thanks again for the replies everyone, I will definitely look at all the saving options and see if we can cope without me finding a new role until next year.

narabanekeater

if you work the 4 months have a look for maternity allowence ive got a feeling youll qualify if you cannot get SMP that is